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The Texas Hill Country: A Food and Wine Lover's Paradise is one part cookbook, one part tour guide. Enjoy this granola recipe featured in the book. Read the accompanying story in the May 2009 issue of Texas Highways Magazine.

Berry Street Bakery House Granola

The Texas Hill Country: A Food and Wine Lover’s Paradise by Terry Thompson-Anderson (Shearer Publishing, 2008) includes this recipe from Berry Street Bakery in Llano. The bakery/lunch spot sells this delicious granola in small bags displayed on top of the bakery counter. It’s easy to make and would make great hostess gifts or Christmas gifts, sealed in plastic bags and packed inside colorful tins.

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup dark raisins

1 cup golden raisins

1 cup mixed dried fruit

¾ cup canola oil

1½ cups honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 cups rolled oats

4 cups wheat flakes

2 cups sunflower seeds

2 cups raw wheat germ

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup sliced unskinned almonds

1 cup whole almonds

1½ cups coconut

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine the fruits in a bowl and toss to blend; set aside. Combine the canola oil, honey, and cinnamon in a bowl, whisking until well blended; set aside. In a large bowl combine all remaining ingredients. Pour the oil mixture over the dry ingredients in the large bowl. Stir to mix well. Spread the mixture out in a thin layer on baking sheets. Toast in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until light golden brown. Do not overcook. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. When completely cool, turn the mixture out into a large bowl and mix in the reserved fruits. Store in an airtight container. Yield: About 1 gallon.

When San Antonio concrete artisan Carlos Cortes was a child, he often assisted his father, Maximo Cortes, as he created his signature faux bois (false wood) structures from concrete. The senior Cortes had learned his craft from master concrete artist Dionico Rodriguez, who had brought his highly secretive technique from Mexico to Texas in the 1920s (and would eventually marry into the Cortes family). Rodriguez called his work—fashioning concrete structures that look uncannily like wood—trabajo rustico, or “rustic work.” Cortes and Rodriguez worked together on many structures throughout San Antonio, including bridges and palapas in Brackenridge Park.

The younger Cortes was in his twenties before he realized he was destined to pursue trabajo rustico himself.

My father died in 1997,” says Cortes, “but he got to see me do the faux bois tree at the San Antonio Children’s Museum.” That year, Cortes went on to create a four-stor, faux bois “tree” at he Witte Museum near Brackenridge Park. Known as the H-E-B Science Treehouse, Cortes’ creation overlooks the San Antonio River and provides kids multiple opportunities to learn about science and nature.

Cortes’ latest faux bois vision—a 180-foot grotto along San Antonio’s new River Walk extension—features such elements as a waterfall, a bench inside the largest cavern, and re-created tree roots coming through the ceiling. “It looks like a natural cave, “ says Cortes, “with stalactites and sedimentary deposits of minerals, but it also looks very whimsical, with a tall pinnacle towards the center. I’ve also created a sculpture of Father Nature, with hundreds of seashells creating his facial features. I use shells to symbolize that this part of Texas used to be part of the ocean. And I love doing benches. I’m interested in doing work that is functional.”

Like his father and great-uncle, Cortes uses simple, handmade tools to replicate wood grain and create other organic effects. “We might use a fork with bent tines, or use a trowel made of a wide comb,” he says. “And when the concrete is cured, we stain it using natural mineral salts.”

“When I was a kid,” Cortes continues, “helping my dad clean the tools…helping out however he needed me… was mostly a chore. My dad was older than my friends’ fathers. He was 54 when I was born. I would rather have been out playing. But now, I’m glad that I was there and can carry on the family legacy.”

Muenster’s civic campaign reads, “Keep Muenster Beautiful.” It might have said, “Keep Muenster German.” Civic and ethnic pride prevails in this small North Texas community. No wonder, then, that it garnered national recognition in 2008’s Keep America Beautiful contest.

In the heart of town at the intersection of US 82 and FM 373 (Main St.), 12 murals depict German businesses (a bank, a flower shop, a watch maker, a toy shop, a coffee house, a pub, et al) a la “The Old Country.” This unusual artwork, along with five huge redecorated milk and cheese containers that depict wine, cheese, and beer at a former dairy plant, was begun by local volunteers in 1973 and expanded upon several times, most recently in 2008.

On Main Street, the small but jam-packed Muenster Museum’s contents reflect the community’s earlier 19th-into-20th Century origins. Situated in the refurbished historic home of former Muenster mayor Ben Seyler and his family, the contents include rooms featuring an early medical office, a school room, and the kitchen of Aggie Seyler, wife of the former mayor. Also among the thousands of items on display are cameras and clothing from the early 1900s, farm machinery of the past (like a 1928 steel-wheeled McCormick Deering tractor with a stationary belt-driven Swayne Robinson hay baler), and military memorabilia from World Wars I and II, including uniforms, recruiting posters, and a piece of carpet taken from Adolf Hitler’s bombed-out Southern Bavaria residence.

The Muenster Antique Mall, at the east end of town on US 82, provides another opportunity for treasure hunters. A converted supermarket with about 100 vendor booths, the mall attracts collectors who enjoy browsing for antique furniture, jewelry, Depression-era glass and other housewares, quilts, and just about anything else that reflects a part of America’s history.

It bears mentioning that Muenster has a sister-city of the same name in Germany (Münster) with more than a quarter-million residents. Muensterites from both continents occasionally visit each other and maintain friendships.

That the new continues to appear alongside the old is evident north of town, where NextEra Energy and Wolf Ridge Wind recently installed 75 wind turbines. Now producing electricity, they stand like a phalanx of sentinels overlooking Muenster. It’s worth the short trip up Main Street to watch them spin their silent magic over territory that once merely represented a dream to a handful of German Catholic immigrants who established the town. This small North Texas community is definitely worthy of a closer look.

Attractions

Cheers for the Dr Pepper Museum as it continues to celebrate America’s oldest major soft drink (created by Waco pharmacist Doc Alderton in 1885) at 300 S. 5th St.

The Historic Waco Suspension Bridge (1870) crosses the Brazos River in Indian Spring Park along the River Walk. Access via University Parks Dr. or Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Five 19th-Century homes, maintained by the Historic Waco Foundation, are all worthy of a visit. They include the Earle-Napier-Kinnard House, Fort House, McCulloch House, Hoffmann House and East Terrace House.

In the January issue, Skeeter Hagler’s photo feature on rodeos introduces Cameron Keeton, the “politically incorrect rodeo clown.” Keeton shares his thoughts on his time inside the barrel with editorial intern Caitlin Sullivan.After riding bulls, what made you decide to become the guy who distracts them?I discovered I really enjoyed making people laugh, so I decided that the barrel man/rodeo clown job was for me.

How exactly do you become a rodeo clown?You find someone who is a rodeo clown and talk to them to make sure this is something you want to do. It is a long, hard road with not much reward at times, but when everything is right, there are those times few and far between when the reward is indescribable.

What’s your favorite thing about what you do?There’s not one specific thing; it’s the travel, making people laugh, making new friends, and making a living doing something I really enjoy.

Is there anything you don’t like?When nobody laughs; that sucks.

Where do you like to perform, small-town or big-city rodeos?Small rodeos with big crowds because I feel more one-on-one with the crowd. There is nothing better than a small Texas town on a hot Saturday night with the music playing and the bulls a-bucking, and everyone is on their feet. You can just feel the electricity.

What makes your act different from other rodeo clowns?In my acts I put a lot of emphasis on being myself. Nobody does that quite like me.

“Any Texas evening,” says TH Staff Photographer Stan Williams, “You can stroll down a Hill Country lane, an inner-city street in Houston, or a farm road in Abilene, and chances are you’ll here the sweet strings of an acoustic guitar dancin’ on a gentle breeze while fireflies perform an aerial two-step. Maybe a banjo or a mandolin sweeten the mix. The siren song of the violin (better known as a fiddle in these parts) puts the icing on the cake. It’s a Texas symphony.”

Such romantic musings are born out of a love for music, and of a love for guitars. Williams describes how the December issue’s feature on luthiers came into being:

It all started when I was 12 years old. I asked my dad to teach me how to play the ten-dollar Sears guitar that sat in a corner of his bedroom. He spent the next several weeks teaching me how to play “Tom

On April 4, 1971, I was just discharged from the Army, and I was walking in downtown Houston searching for a pay phone when I walked by a freight salvage company. I glanced through the open door and saw a guitar hanging on a wire from the ceiling; it was hanging on my back when I found the phone and called home. That old Framus, made in Bavaria, still resides in my bedroom—even though it never could hold a tune through the upper octave.

Sometime in 1997, I test-drove a Chevy truck and dropped an entry in the box to win a Gibson J-200 guitar. I was stuck in traffic on the Interstate when they announced on the radio that I had won. I

That series of events led to my attendance of a guitar demonstration by Lawrence Juber, guitarist for Paul McCartney and Wings, at a local music store. Juber demonstrated the features of each of the sponsor’s guitars and why the different types of wood produced different sounds and different body shapes produced different tonalities.At one point, he asked the crowd, “Would any of you like to hear something on my own guitar?” Every hand shot up instantly. We all strained to see what he was pulling out of his gig bag; tt was a Collings, made in Austin.

For the next 20 minutes, he played a blur of chord changes with a sprinkling of incredible lead runs sprinkled about like bluebonnets on a hillside. Every note spoke with clarity and brilliance and every chord rang with harmonious resonance. Goosebumps covered my neck and arms, feeling like electricity running down into my hands. I suddenly understood what a friend had told me so long ago, that upon hearing Pavarotti sing in New York, his eyes filled with tears at the purity of voice.

I practically ran to the computer when I returned home, speeding down the information highway to find out more about this wonderful instrument that had so captured my senses. Somewhere between the pages of delightful html coding, a thought burst into presence. “How many other guitar-makers are there in Texas that I don’t know about?” In this feature, I share with you some of the guitar-makers I discovered. I hope you enjoy it. –Stan Williams

DesignYou have to start with a good design. You have to know what you want to make before you make it. I design my own.

Choose WoodChoose appropriate woods for what you’re trying to make. For example, if you’re making a Spanish guitar, it’s most likely going to have a rosewood back. But if you’re looking for a specific sound, it will affect the type of rosewood you use.

Mill PiecesYou’ve just selected the wood for the neck, body, and top of your guitar. Now you’re going to mill or work all these basic woods, cut them down to size, make them flat and square, and thin them to a certain dimension.

Glue Up ProcessThe tops or backs of guitars are almost always “center joint.” They’re made from two pieces of wood that are cut from the same log and then glued back together.

Transfer DesignNext, with a template or computer, you transfer your design to the wood. The body shape is transferred to the top and back pieces, which are then cut out to the finished size.

Side WoodAt this stage, for most acoustic guitars, you would bend the side wood on a bending iron to match the outline and shape of the top and back.

BlockingThere are two blocks of wood called the neck block and the tail block. Where the side pieces meet is at the end of the guitar, or the tail. The top and back of the guitar are glued to the tail block. The neck block is where you join the neck to the body. Both are big structural parts, kind of like the main supports of a bridge; everything gets anchored to them.

LiningThin strips of wood that are little more than an eighth-of-an-inch thick are glued to the edge of the sides to provide a gluing surface for the top and back. There’s not enough surface on the sides to glue onto, so the lining provides some extra support.

BracingThe top and back are structurally braced with wood, which gives them the proper curvature. Once those braces are glued on, you tune the braces and remove any excess wood because, like airplane construction, you want it as strong as possible, but you want to minimize your weight.

The NeckCut the dovetail joint into the body at the neck block and fit the neck to the guitar. At that point, you’ll do any kind of finishing to the neck, like shaping the back of it or veneering the headstock, which is where the tuning machines are placed. Once that’s all done, the neck will be glued to the body, and the fingerboard (usually ebony or rosewood) gets glued on top of the neck and the body.

DetailsThe rest is very fine detail work, such as putting frets on the fingerboard and doing any decorative binding on the body. The last bits would be to glue on a bridge (where the strings attach to the body), fit the headstock with machine heads to tune with, and attach a bone or ivory nut and saddle. The nut holds the strings in place at the headstock and neck, and the saddle holds them in place on the bridge.

Finishing UpString it up, say a prayer, and hope it doesn’t explode, which could happen since guitars are usually under about 225 pounds of string pressure.

The guitar maker’s conundrum is always how to make something lightweight and responsive, but still strong enough and durable to last as much as a century. My goal is to make something that will last a lifetime.

How long have you been decorating your house?I have been decorating for nine years now – Eastridge has the best six-block span of Christmas lights in all of El Paso, in my opinion.

Have you ever had any incidents while decorating?It is usually pretty smooth sailing when it comes to decorating, aside from the occasional bleeding from being stuck by a yucca when putting the lights on them. I borrow a hydraulic lift to decorate my yuccas and it can sometimes be a very ‘sticky’ situation. I usually help the neighbors with the lift when I am done decorating.

Do you decorate your house the same way every year?Most of the time, we use the same décor and props. We usually obtain one or two new items and we carry out the Elf theme from year-to-year. We change the lights around a little... maybe different colors here and there. I like to move things around some to change things up. It can get complicated when it comes to sequencing the lights. You have to make sure they are in the right order so they look right.

What would happen if you weren’t to decorate your house?I would be the odd guy out. Everyone goes completely crazy when it comes to decorating. We all really enjoy it. All of the neighbors talk a big game as if our decorating is competitive, but it’s really not a competitive nature. We like to put up as many lights as possible for people to enjoy and that’s our main goal.

How long does it usually take you to decorate your house from start to finish?The weather dictates how long it will take. Usually it takes me two weeks. My wife and son help, along with every Tom, Dick, and Harry who wants to help. I have two of my employees who have obligated themselves to helping me already for this year.

Combine sugar and spices, and set aside.Place bananas on a hot grill, and cook until grill marks appear. Turn, and grill until marks appear on second side. Transfer bananas to 4 serving dishes, placing two banana halves in each dish. Sprinkle sugar and spices mixture evenly over each serving. Spoon on a heaping scoop of ice cream. Drizzle with Crema del Sol. Yield: 4 servings.

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Published monthly by the Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Highways, the official travel magazine of Texas, encourages travel to and within the Lone Star State and tells the Texas story to readers around the world.